“Jackson inverts the Balcony Theater so that the audience is seated in the pit, looking up...allowing for dynamic level-playing...The stage pictures created against this are clear and interesting..The playful approach to the text by the performers, tossing in sotto voce asides during each other's speeches...Because it's a weightier story, it undercuts (at least for me), some of the moments of rhetoric for which this play is known...The cast is versatile and playful.”
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“What works, works brilliantly...Pragel's fight direction was smart, cinematic, and spectacular...It was apparent that several times actors were simply left to sit on the steps and deliver the text...A physical abandonment that...somewhat muddied relationships between sets of characters...Sometimes the clown elements felt out of place...This production had several electrifying moments, and the whole concept came together...A riotous good time and a smart presentation."
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“Everyone in the cast spoke with clarity...They knew what they were saying and the result was a conversational tone...The somewhat spare venue...was effective and well-used...The performance seemed to lack gravitas...The gender changes may have influenced my impression...I don’t know why it was done. It didn’t illuminate any feminist issues. It didn’t offer any additional insights...The War of Phillippi, as choreographed by Pragel, was simply breathtaking.”
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See it if
you'd like to experience a "Julius Caesar" that feels effortlessly contemporary.

Don't see it if
you are expecting the standard ideological face-off between Brutus & Antony to be the night's central thread.

Also
Hamlet Isn't Dead is no standard Shakespeare troupe, so don’t expect its “Julius Caesar” to strike the familiar hits. A fierce, spare rock band, cast as the revelers that open the play, stay on to play a soundtrack perfectly attuned to the havoc assassination lets slip. Brutus & Caesar are played by women & their spouses played by men: scenes between these couples are freshly revelatory. Andy Ingalls’ purring Portia felt right—as did his Octavius later. Which makes the decision to cut the scene that introduces Octavius puzzling. I love how HID slashes a script to the bone. But losing all of the scene that launches the post-Caesar world & plants the seeds for the Octavius-Antony rift throws the plot out of balance. That the production’s 2nd half loses intensity is more the fault of the playwright than the production. But Noah Ruff’s Cassius stays lean & hungry to the deadly end, his late-stage argument with Brutus the very model of stoic meltdown.... Read moreRead less

Don't see it if
you want a 20th or 21st century version of Shakespeare. This more the comedy that the Bard intended.

Also
When I left the theater I thought that Jackson had failed to show the extent love and fealty between Brutus and Caesar. Then I realized that I was simply projecting what I had seen in previous productions onto this show. The joke in Julius Caesar is that fealty is pronounced at one instant and immediately followed by betrayal. Jackson's fast movement between Brutus' pledge of loyalty followed by betrayal perfectly captures the original comedy.

The cast almost all have fine voices with the ability to project and annunciate - rare in theater today (and most enjoyable).

The seamless scene changes avoid the major flaw of most off-off Broadway (and some on Broadway) theater.... Read moreRead less

See it if
You like the play. This is a loyal concept and cut and performed with the utmost commitment by its performers.

Don't see it if
you are looking for true star-turns.

Also
Hamlet isn't Dead continues to distinguish itself as one of the stronger indie Shakespeare troupes in the city. While I found myself wishing for slightly more charisma in the leads this was a strong ensemble that presented the narrative in an engaging and fast paced production.